{"id":77,"date":"2022-08-07T22:47:45","date_gmt":"2022-08-07T22:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=77"},"modified":"2022-08-26T18:56:18","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T18:56:18","slug":"maintaining-neutrality","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/chapter\/maintaining-neutrality\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 12: Maintaining a Neutral Tone","rendered":"Chapter 12: Maintaining a Neutral Tone"},"content":{"raw":"\n<div id=\"section_2\">\n<h1 data-title-editor-available=\"false\">Just the facts<\/h1>\n(from&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/Writing the Hard News Story\">Journalism 101: Libretext<\/a>)\n<h2>Tone<\/h2>\n<ul>\n \t<li>The tone of a news story should be neutral (just the facts, ma'am), and while ordinarily that tone can be stiff or dull, in a news story it's exactly right for two crucial reasons. First of all, tone carries meaning. If your tone is emphatic, angry, melancholy, low-brow, high-brow, laid-back, critical, or, really, anything but neutral, that tone conveys an opinion. But you don't want your opinion seeping into a hard news story. Secondly, a neutral tone is appropriate because the information being delivered\u2014not the language it's delivered in\u2014carries the sentence's energy. To wit: \"The President today pardoned a staff member for lying to a jury about the Vice President's participation in a campaign against an FBI agent's reputation.\" This sentence has a neutral tone, but it's a bomb all right.<\/li>\n \t<li>Don't use inflated or sensational tone to create meaning where none exists.<\/li>\n \t<li>Don't select sources with only a specific point of view and then use neutral language to disguise this bias.<\/li>\n \t<li>Be sensitive to the denotation and connotation of words. (Good intentions don't matter, only impact does. Our world is changing rapidly and it's important to use accepted and respectful words. Use the AP Style for this.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"section_3\">\n<h2 class=\"textHeaderLG\">Point of View<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"textheader--xl\">From NYU Journalism Handbook for Students: Ethics, Law and Good Practice<\/h3>\n<h4 class=\"textheader--xl\"><em>By Prof. Adam L. Penenberg<\/em><\/h4>\n<strong>REVISED 2020<\/strong>\n\n<\/div>\n<h5><b>OBJECTIVITY VS. SUBJECTIVITY<\/b><\/h5>\nIn a hard news piece, the expectation is that the journalist is attempting to convey the facts impartially. That is to say, objectively. But some magazines, digital journalism and many other newsmedia value a strong point of view; the journalist lets the research take them to where they need to go. Often, that requires them to take sides, if the facts warrant it. Some argue that the \u201che said, she said\u201d form of journalism, in which a reporter tries to balance two opposing sides, often results in an inaccurate article, since one side may be right and the other wrong. When in doubt, consult with your professor. Remember that journalism can be good\u2014or bad\u2014whether or not it is opinionated. The true test of journalistic quality is not whether the reporter has an opinion, but whether the article\u2014opinionated or not\u2014is informed by a fair assessment of the facts.\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\"><a class=\"home\" title=\"Go to Writing Commons.\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/\">Writing Commons<\/a> <i class=\"fas fa-ghost\"><\/i><span class=\"post post-article current-item\">News or Opinion?<\/span><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\">News or Opinion?<\/h1>\n<div class=\"article-authors\">\n<ul>\n \t<li>Written by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/authors\/christine-photinos\/\">Christine Photinos<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"creative-commons-license\">\n<p class=\"copyright-header\">This article uses a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/a><img class=\"creative-commons-img ezlazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-content\/themes\/writingcommons-2019\/images\/creative-commons-1.png?ezimgfmt=rs:159x36\/rscb4\/ngcb4\/notWebP\" alt=\"Creative Commons license type BY-NC-ND 4.0\" width=\"187\" height=\"43\" data-ezsrc=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-content\/themes\/writingcommons-2019\/images\/creative-commons-1.png?ezimgfmt=rs:159x36\/rscb4\/ngcb4\/notWebP\"><\/p>\nResearch we do on the web and through library databases often leads us to content from newspapers, magazines, and news agencies (such as Reuters and the Associated Press). What all news content has in common is that it connects in some way to something that is new or in the news.<span id=\"ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-111\" class=\"ezoic-adpicker-ad\"><\/span>\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/1254144,22081415569\/writingcommons_org-box-3_0__container__\"><\/div>\nNews content can be roughly divided into the categories of&nbsp;<em>news&nbsp;<\/em>and&nbsp;<em>opinion<\/em>. News articles attempt to provide information on a current event, while opinion pieces attempt to persuade readers to adopt a particular position on that event.\n\nThe distinction between news and opinion is not black and white. An example of one grey area is \u201cadvocacy reporting\u201d\u2014when news is reported from an explicit perspective. For example, news articles published in the Humane Society magazine\u2013\u2013<em>All Animals<\/em>\u2013\u2013generally serve the organization\u2019s larger agenda of promoting humane treatment of animals (Example: \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.humanesociety.org\/news\/magazines\/2016\/05-06\/big-changes-at-seaworld.html?credit=web_vanity_allanimals_id855831562\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Big Changes at SeaWorld<\/a>\u201d<em>All Animals<\/em>May\/June 2016).\n\nAnother subcategory of news that can at times seem to enter into this grey area is \u201cnews analysis\u201d\u2014news writing that pushes beyond surface answers to the 5 W\u2019s and H (Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How?) to explore causes and consequences of news events (Example: \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment\/music\/la-et-ms-grammy-awards-2018-news-analysis-20171128-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grammy Awards 2018: How the Recording Academy has Evolved Toward Relevance<\/a>\u201d LA Times Nov. 28, 2017).\n\nMore generally, we should recognize that the way in which news is presented\u2014including what information is selected for inclusion, and what words and images are used to communicate that information\u2014can encourage particular understandings or perspectives. We should always be alert to such factors in news reporting, and to significant departures from accepted standards of journalistic fairness and accuracy.\n\nBut to reject the journalistic distinction between news and opinion is to turn all sources into an undifferentiated mass of \u201cinformation.\u201d An analogy: These days many movies contain commercial messages (for example,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Product_placement\">product placement<\/a>) and many commercials have taken on movie-like qualities (consider&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QVe_xwx0lVg\">this AT&amp;T ad\u2014titled \u201cWhole New World,\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;for example). Yet we still value the ability to distinguish between these two&nbsp;<em>types&nbsp;<\/em>of content and to refer to them by different names. (Without different names for these two types of content, how would we express frustration with a feature-length Burger King ad? What words would we use?)\n\nSkillful researchers are able to identify sources by type, even in circumstances when they do not believe a source has achieved the highest ideals of its type. Below (Table 1) are some defining features of \u201cnews\u201d and \u201copinion.\u201d\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h3><span class=\"blue-shade\"><strong>News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h3><strong><span class=\"orange-shade\">Opinion<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>The writer reports the news. People\u2019s opinions may appear as part of that reporting (\u201cAccording to Mr. Smith\u2026\u201d), but the writer does not explicitly present his\/her own views.<\/td>\n<td>The writer shares his or her own views and explicitly seeks to persuade readers to adopt those views as their own.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<strong>Table 1<\/strong>\n\nBelow (Table 2) are some&nbsp;<em>sub<\/em>-categories of news and opinion:<span id=\"ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-176\" class=\"ezoic-adpicker-ad\"><\/span>\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/1254144,22081415569\/writingcommons_org-box-4_0__container__\">[embed]https:\/\/7d529084b43a65d5dd1304383e1f9a0f.safeframe.googlesyndication.com\/safeframe\/1-0-38\/html\/container.html[\/embed]<\/div>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h3><span class=\"blue-shade\"><strong>News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"blue-shade\">News Article<\/span><\/td>\n<td>An article written to inform readers about recent events. The author reports essential information (who\/what\/where\/when\/why\/how).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"blue-shade\">News Analysis<\/span><\/td>\n<td>An article written to inform readers about recent events. The author reports<em>and<\/em>&nbsp;attempts to deepen understanding of recent events\u2014for example, by providing background information and other kinds of additional context.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"blue-shade\">Feature Article<\/span><\/td>\n<td>Compared with news articles, feature articles are often more creative or exploratory and less focused on efficient delivery of essential information.&nbsp;\n\nFor example, while a news article may detail the most recent revelations about a politician\u2019s extramarital affair, a feature article may offer in-depth reporting on a single aspect of the revelations, or the revelations may function as a \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dictionary.com\/browse\/news-peg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">news peg<\/a>\u201d for the feature article\u2019s more general exploration of infidelity.\n\nOther types of news content that are generally categorized as \u201cfeature\u201d writing include how-to-do-it articles (for example, how to shop for a new phone) and profiles (for example, an article about a movie actor starring in a recently-released film).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h3><span class=\"orange-shade\"><strong>Opinion<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"orange-shade\">Editorial<\/span><\/td>\n<td>An unsigned opinion piece that represents the views of the news organization\u2019s editorial staff.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"orange-shade\">Opinion piece<\/span><\/td>\n<td>An opinion article by a staff columnist or guest columnist. (If a guest columnist, the writer\u2019s credentials will almost always be identified.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"orange-shade\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<td>An evaluation of a book, movie, album, live performance, etc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<strong>Table 2<\/strong>\n<h2><span class=\"blue-shade\">Distinguishing between News and Opinion: An Example<\/span><\/h2>\nCompare the two texts that follow. In the first, \u201cGet Children Off Web and in Libraries,\u201d the reporter quotes the opinions of others but does not offer her own opinions. In the second, \u201cWhy Libraries are Key,\u201d the author explicitly takes a stand and seeks to persuade readers to adopt a particular position on an issue.\n<h3><span class=\"blue-shade\">News<\/span><\/h3>\n<em><strong>Get children off web and in libraries, says Laureate<\/strong><\/em>\n\nChildren are failing to learn properly because they are churning out facts copied from the internet instead of going to the library, according&nbsp;to the new Children\u2019s Laureate<sub>1<\/sub>.\n\nJulia Donaldson, the best-selling author of The Gruffalo, set out her stall on the day of her appointment by speaking out against the Government\u2019s planned library closures, arguing that they&nbsp;are vital for children\u2019s education<sub>1<\/sub>.\n\n<em class=\"blue-shade\">Opinions are attributed to another person (Donaldson). They are not presented as the reporter\u2019s own view.<sub>1<\/sub><\/em>\n<p class=\"works-cited\">Source:\nSingh, Anita. \u201cGet Children Off Web and in Libraries, says Laureate.\u201d&nbsp;<em>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>, 8 June 2011, 8.<span id=\"ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-115\" class=\"ezoic-adpicker-ad\"><\/span><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/1254144,22081415569\/writingcommons_org-banner-1_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"orange-shade\">Opinion<\/span><\/h3>\n<em><strong>Why libraries are key to our kids\u2019 futures<\/strong><\/em>\n\nChildren\u2019s use of libraries has increased every year for the past six years.\n\nAs the Children\u2019s Laureate&nbsp;I want to make sure that<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;continues, and to do all I can to keep libraries open so that children can use them.\n\nWithout this resource&nbsp;I\u2019m convinced that we will<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;have far fewer avid child readers and consequently lose a large percentage of our future adult readers.\n\n<em class=\"orange-shade\">Notice that the author presents her own views, credentials, and objectives<sub>2<\/sub>.<\/em>\n<p class=\"works-cited\">Source:\nDonaldson, Julia. \u201cWhy Libraries are Key to Our Kids Futures.\u201d&nbsp;<em>The Sun<\/em>, 14 October 2011, 40.<\/p>\n\n<h2><span class=\"blue-shade\">News or Opinion? Test your understanding.<\/span><\/h2>\nIdentify each excerpt that follows as an example of&nbsp;<span class=\"blue-shade\"><em>news<\/em><\/span>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<span class=\"orange-shade\"><em>opinion<\/em><\/span>. (Discussion of each example appears at the end of this section.)\n<ol>\n \t<li><strong>Jeremy Hunt: No Public Interest in Nude Prince Harry Photographs<\/strong>Speaking to BBC News this morning, Mr. Hunt said: \u201cPersonally I cannot see what the public interest was in publishing those.\u201d\u201dBut we have a free press,\u201d he added, \u201cand I don\u2019t think it is right for politicians to tell newspaper editors what they can and cannot publish. That must be a matter for the newspaper editors.\u201dHe suggested that the public should give the Prince \u201ca break\u201d, days after the daily tabloid published photographs obtained by gossip website TMZ.\n<p class=\"works-cited\"><em>Source:<\/em>\n\u201cJeremy Hunt: No Public Interest in Nude Prince Harry Photographs.\u201d&nbsp;<em>The Telegraph<\/em>, 26 August 2012,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/uknews\/prince-harry\/9500433\/Jeremy-Hunt-No-public-interest-in-nude-Prince-Harry-photographs.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/uknews\/prince-harry\/9500433\/Jeremy-Hunt-No-public-interest-in-nude-Prince-Harry-photographs.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Social Media Content Could Make, Break Professional Life<\/strong>Do you remember your last tweet? What about last month\u2019s Facebook or Instagram posts? It is all out there somewhere, and employers very well may see something that could hurt their opinion of you.Tyler Willingham, a senior in marketing and a peer career adviser, was curious to know exactly what an employer\u2019s goal is when perusing a prospective employee\u2019s social media. After speaking with a mentor from a previous internship Willingham held, he found his answer.\u201cIt\u2019s not really an issue of what they look for,\u201d Willingham said \u201cbut what they try not to find.\u201d\n\nCareer Services interim director Stephanie Kit said some of the things employers hope not to find are pictures and posts involving alcohol or drug usage, negative comments about a current or previous employer and any discriminatory content.\n<p class=\"works-cited\"><em>Source:<\/em>\nLipps, Michael. \u201cSocial Media Content Could Make, Break Professional Life.\u201d&nbsp;<em>University of Tennessee Daily Beacon<\/em>, 15 April 2015, www.utdailybeacon.com\/news\/2015\/apr\/15\/social-media\u2013content-could-make-break-professional\/.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>\u2018Kid Nation\u2019 Lesson: Be Careful What You Pitch<\/strong>On Friday, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the union that represents performers but not contestants on reality shows, said it was investigating whether the children on \u201cKid Nation\u201d should have been covered by the union\u2019s work rules.With \u201cKid Nation,\u201d CBS confronted several new situations created by the fact that it was working with children rather than adults.If \u201cKid Nation\u201d had been set in California, New York or several other states, it would have been subject to laws that limit the amount of time a child could spend on the set of the program each day. It chose instead to shoot the program in New Mexico, where until this summer there was no law addressing children\u2019s work on television or film productions.\n\nThat is not to say that New Mexico had not contemplated such limits. Before CBS took the 40 children to the state, its Legislature had already passed a bill that would have outlawed much of what CBS had planned.\n\nOn April 3, two days after CBS started shooting the 13-episode reality series, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico signed the bill into law. It limits children ages 8 to 15 to eight to nine hours\u2019 work a day on television and film productions.\n\nOn the set of \u201cKid Nation,\u201d the children regularly worked more than 12 hours a day, and their contract required that they be available to the show\u2019s producers to be videotaped 24 hours a day, seven days a week.\n\nBut because the new law was not scheduled to go into effect until June 15, roughly one month after \u201cKid Nation\u201d finished production, lawyers for CBS have contended that everything they did was in compliance with the law \u201cin effect at the time of production.\u201d\n\nBut it is not clear whether CBS was in compliance. New Mexico child-labor statutes limit children under the age of 14 to 44 hours of work in one week and eight hours in any day, unless a special permit has been granted. [\u2026]\n<p class=\"works-cited\"><em>Source:<\/em>\nWyatt, Edward. \u201c\u2018Kid Nation\u2019 Lesson: Be Careful What You Pitch.\u201d&nbsp;<em>New York Times<\/em>, 25 August 2007, B7.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Sometimes, the Teachers Bully the Students<\/strong>The government of Alberta has re-introduced its Education Act, which addresses the issue of student bullying in schools. The bill affirms that students are entitled to learning environments that are welcoming, caring, respectful and safe.The government is to be commended both for its process in engaging the community, and for the resulting new provisions.For example, the bill\u2019s definition of bullying acknowledges that bullying is intentional and repetitive, and that it can cause harm, fear and distress to victims in the school community. Moreover, the bill wisely addresses not just the situation where a student bullies fellow students, but where a student bullies other individuals in the school community. Such recognition that students can bully adults is important because research suggests that students often bully their teachers.\n\nYet, the bill fails to acknowledge that the imbalance of power between teachers and students creates an opportunity for bullying of students by adults. [\u2026] The bill ought to recognize and address the possibility of bullying behavior by adults who work in schools.\n<p class=\"works-cited\"><em>Source:<\/em>\nBuchfink, Jaclyn, and Juliet Guichon. \u201cSometimes, the Teachers Bully the Students.\u201d&nbsp;<em>Calgary Herald<\/em>, 21 February 2012, A13.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span class=\"blue-shade\">Discussion<\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n \t<li><strong>Jeremy Hunt: No Public Interest in Nude Prince Harry Photographs<\/strong>Speaking to BBC News this morning, Mr. Hunt said: \u201cPersonally I cannot see what the public interest was in publishing those.\u201d\u201dBut we have a free press,\u201d he added, \u201cand I don\u2019t think it is right for politicians to tell newspaper editors what they can and cannot publish. That must be a matter for the newspaper editors.\u201dHe suggested that the public should give the Prince \u201ca break\u201d, days after the daily tabloid published photographs obtained by gossip website TMZ.\n<p class=\"blue-shade\">1. News\n-This piece deals almost exclusively with an opinion, but the opinion is&nbsp;<em>not<\/em>&nbsp;that of the author.\n-Rather, the author is&nbsp;<em>reporting on<\/em>&nbsp;the opinion of a public figure (British Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Social Media Content Could Make, Break Professional Life<\/strong>Do you remember your last tweet? What about last month\u2019s Facebook or Instagram posts? It is all out there somewhere, and employers very well may see something that could hurt their opinion of you.Tyler Willingham, a senior in marketing and a peer career adviser, was curious to know exactly what an employer\u2019s goal is when perusing a prospective employee\u2019s social media. After speaking with a mentor from a previous internship Willingham held, he found his answer.\u201cIt\u2019s not really an issue of what they look for,\u201d Willingham said \u201cbut what they try not to find.\u201d\n\nCareer Services interim director Stephanie Kit said some of the things employers hope not to find are pictures and posts involving alcohol or drug usage, negative comments about a current or previous employer and any discriminatory content.\n<p class=\"blue-shade\">2. News\n-This is an example of a \u201cfeature\u201d-style news piece. The presentation is more creative than that of a news article, and the headline expresses a claim. But the author is still primarily&nbsp;<em>reporting on the views of others<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>\u2018Kid Nation\u2019 Lesson: Be Careful What You Pitch<\/strong>On Friday, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the union that represents performers but not contestants on reality shows, said it was investigating whether the children on \u201cKid Nation\u201d should have been covered by the union\u2019s work rules.With \u201cKid Nation,\u201d CBS confronted several new situations created by the fact that it was working with children rather than adults.If \u201cKid Nation\u201d had been set in California, New York or several other states, it would have been subject to laws that limit the amount of time a child could spend on the set of the program each day. It chose instead to shoot the program in New Mexico, where until this summer there was no law addressing children\u2019s work on television or film productions.\n\nThat is not to say that New Mexico had not contemplated such limits. Before CBS took the 40 children to the state, its Legislature had already passed a bill that would have outlawed much of what CBS had planned.\n\nOn April 3, two days after CBS started shooting the 13-episode reality series, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico signed the bill into law. It limits children ages 8 to 15 to eight to nine hours\u2019 work a day on television and film productions.\n\nOn the set of \u201cKid Nation,\u201d the children regularly worked more than 12 hours a day, and their contract required that they be available to the show\u2019s producers to be videotaped 24 hours a day, seven days a week.\n\nBut because the new law was not scheduled to go into effect until June 15, roughly one month after \u201cKid Nation\u201d finished production, lawyers for CBS have contended that everything they did was in compliance with the law \u201cin effect at the time of production.\u201d\n\nBut it is not clear whether CBS was in compliance. New Mexico child-labor statutes limit children under the age of 14 to 44 hours of work in one week and eight hours in any day, unless a special permit has been granted.\n<p class=\"blue-shade\">3. News\n-This is an example of a \u201cNews Analysis\u201d article. It does not merely report Who, What, Where, When, Why and How (though we do see these elements in the top paragraph) but rather attempts to provide readers with a better understanding of the broader context and complexities of the news event.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \t<li><strong>Sometimes, the Teachers Bully the Students<\/strong>The government of Alberta has re-introduced its Education Act, which addresses the issue of student bullying in schools. The bill affirms that students are entitled to learning environments that are welcoming, caring, respectful and safe.The government is to be commended both for its process in engaging the community, and for the resulting new provisions.For example, the bill\u2019s definition of bullying acknowledges that bullying is intentional and repetitive, and that it can cause harm, fear and distress to victims in the school community. Moreover, the bill wisely addresses not just the situation where a student bullies fellow students, but where a student bullies other individuals in the school community. Such recognition that students can bully adults is important because research suggests that students often bully their teachers.\n\nYet, the bill fails to acknowledge that the imbalance of power between teachers and students creates an opportunity for bullying of students by adults [\u2026] The bill ought to recognize and address the possibility of bullying behavior by adults who work in schools.\n<p class=\"orange-shade\">4. Opinion\n-While the authors do report on the positions and research findings of others, they are essentially putting forward their own position.\n-Notice that the opinions expressed in this piece are not attributed to others, as in the previous examples. The opinions belong to the authors.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Further Study<\/h3>\nJournalistic norms and practices are always evolving. The rise of 24-hour cable news networks and the internet has led many traditional news outlets to differentiate themselves by offering more analysis, contextualization, and interpretation in their reporting. Another factor in this evolution has been a growing disenchantment with older ideals of detached reporting\u2014especially the most rigid interpretation of these ideals, in which objectivity is understood to dictate a narrow focus on the surface details of news phenomena, and in which even identification of verifiable falsehoods in the statements of public officials might be considered a breach of journalistic objectivity.\n\nFor further study, see:\n<p class=\"works-cited\">Esser, Frank, and Andrea Umbricht. \u201cThe Evolution of Objective and Interpretative Journalism in the Western Press.\u201d&nbsp;<em>Journalism &amp; Mass Communication Quarterly<\/em>, vol. 91, no. 2, 2014, pp. 229-249.<\/p>\n<p class=\"works-cited\">Maras, Steven.&nbsp;<em>Objectivity in Journalism<\/em>. Polity Press, 2013.<\/p>\n<p class=\"works-cited\">Seyb, Ronald P. \u201cWhat Walter Saw: Walter Lippmann, the New York World, and Scientific Advocacy as an Alternative to the News-Opinion Dichotomy.\u201d&nbsp;<em>Journalism History<\/em>, vol. 41, no. 2, 2015, pp. 58-72.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n&nbsp;\n","rendered":"<div id=\"section_2\">\n<h1 data-title-editor-available=\"false\">Just the facts<\/h1>\n<p>(from&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/Writing the Hard News Story\">Journalism 101: Libretext<\/a>)<\/p>\n<h2>Tone<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The tone of a news story should be neutral (just the facts, ma&#8217;am), and while ordinarily that tone can be stiff or dull, in a news story it&#8217;s exactly right for two crucial reasons. First of all, tone carries meaning. If your tone is emphatic, angry, melancholy, low-brow, high-brow, laid-back, critical, or, really, anything but neutral, that tone conveys an opinion. But you don&#8217;t want your opinion seeping into a hard news story. Secondly, a neutral tone is appropriate because the information being delivered\u2014not the language it&#8217;s delivered in\u2014carries the sentence&#8217;s energy. To wit: &#8220;The President today pardoned a staff member for lying to a jury about the Vice President&#8217;s participation in a campaign against an FBI agent&#8217;s reputation.&#8221; This sentence has a neutral tone, but it&#8217;s a bomb all right.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t use inflated or sensational tone to create meaning where none exists.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t select sources with only a specific point of view and then use neutral language to disguise this bias.<\/li>\n<li>Be sensitive to the denotation and connotation of words. (Good intentions don&#8217;t matter, only impact does. Our world is changing rapidly and it&#8217;s important to use accepted and respectful words. Use the AP Style for this.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"section_3\">\n<h2 class=\"textHeaderLG\">Point of View<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"textheader--xl\">From NYU Journalism Handbook for Students: Ethics, Law and Good Practice<\/h3>\n<h4 class=\"textheader--xl\"><em>By Prof. Adam L. Penenberg<\/em><\/h4>\n<p><strong>REVISED 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h5><b>OBJECTIVITY VS. SUBJECTIVITY<\/b><\/h5>\n<p>In a hard news piece, the expectation is that the journalist is attempting to convey the facts impartially. That is to say, objectively. But some magazines, digital journalism and many other newsmedia value a strong point of view; the journalist lets the research take them to where they need to go. Often, that requires them to take sides, if the facts warrant it. Some argue that the \u201che said, she said\u201d form of journalism, in which a reporter tries to balance two opposing sides, often results in an inaccurate article, since one side may be right and the other wrong. When in doubt, consult with your professor. Remember that journalism can be good\u2014or bad\u2014whether or not it is opinionated. The true test of journalistic quality is not whether the reporter has an opinion, but whether the article\u2014opinionated or not\u2014is informed by a fair assessment of the facts.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\"><a class=\"home\" title=\"Go to Writing Commons.\" href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/\">Writing Commons<\/a> <i class=\"fas fa-ghost\"><\/i><span class=\"post post-article current-item\">News or Opinion?<\/span><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\">News or Opinion?<\/h1>\n<div class=\"article-authors\">\n<ul>\n<li>Written by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/authors\/christine-photinos\/\">Christine Photinos<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"creative-commons-license\">\n<p class=\"copyright-header\">This article uses a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"creative-commons-img ezlazyloaded\" src=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-content\/themes\/writingcommons-2019\/images\/creative-commons-1.png?ezimgfmt=rs:159x36\/rscb4\/ngcb4\/notWebP\" alt=\"Creative Commons license type BY-NC-ND 4.0\" width=\"187\" height=\"43\" data-ezsrc=\"https:\/\/writingcommons.org\/wp-content\/themes\/writingcommons-2019\/images\/creative-commons-1.png?ezimgfmt=rs:159x36\/rscb4\/ngcb4\/notWebP\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Research we do on the web and through library databases often leads us to content from newspapers, magazines, and news agencies (such as Reuters and the Associated Press). What all news content has in common is that it connects in some way to something that is new or in the news.<span id=\"ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-111\" class=\"ezoic-adpicker-ad\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/1254144,22081415569\/writingcommons_org-box-3_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<p>News content can be roughly divided into the categories of&nbsp;<em>news&nbsp;<\/em>and&nbsp;<em>opinion<\/em>. News articles attempt to provide information on a current event, while opinion pieces attempt to persuade readers to adopt a particular position on that event.<\/p>\n<p>The distinction between news and opinion is not black and white. An example of one grey area is \u201cadvocacy reporting\u201d\u2014when news is reported from an explicit perspective. For example, news articles published in the Humane Society magazine\u2013\u2013<em>All Animals<\/em>\u2013\u2013generally serve the organization\u2019s larger agenda of promoting humane treatment of animals (Example: \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.humanesociety.org\/news\/magazines\/2016\/05-06\/big-changes-at-seaworld.html?credit=web_vanity_allanimals_id855831562\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Big Changes at SeaWorld<\/a>\u201d<em>All Animals<\/em>May\/June 2016).<\/p>\n<p>Another subcategory of news that can at times seem to enter into this grey area is \u201cnews analysis\u201d\u2014news writing that pushes beyond surface answers to the 5 W\u2019s and H (Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How?) to explore causes and consequences of news events (Example: \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment\/music\/la-et-ms-grammy-awards-2018-news-analysis-20171128-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grammy Awards 2018: How the Recording Academy has Evolved Toward Relevance<\/a>\u201d LA Times Nov. 28, 2017).<\/p>\n<p>More generally, we should recognize that the way in which news is presented\u2014including what information is selected for inclusion, and what words and images are used to communicate that information\u2014can encourage particular understandings or perspectives. We should always be alert to such factors in news reporting, and to significant departures from accepted standards of journalistic fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n<p>But to reject the journalistic distinction between news and opinion is to turn all sources into an undifferentiated mass of \u201cinformation.\u201d An analogy: These days many movies contain commercial messages (for example,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Product_placement\">product placement<\/a>) and many commercials have taken on movie-like qualities (consider&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QVe_xwx0lVg\">this AT&amp;T ad\u2014titled \u201cWhole New World,\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;for example). Yet we still value the ability to distinguish between these two&nbsp;<em>types&nbsp;<\/em>of content and to refer to them by different names. (Without different names for these two types of content, how would we express frustration with a feature-length Burger King ad? What words would we use?)<\/p>\n<p>Skillful researchers are able to identify sources by type, even in circumstances when they do not believe a source has achieved the highest ideals of its type. Below (Table 1) are some defining features of \u201cnews\u201d and \u201copinion.\u201d<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h3><span class=\"blue-shade\"><strong>News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<h3><strong><span class=\"orange-shade\">Opinion<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>The writer reports the news. People\u2019s opinions may appear as part of that reporting (\u201cAccording to Mr. Smith\u2026\u201d), but the writer does not explicitly present his\/her own views.<\/td>\n<td>The writer shares his or her own views and explicitly seeks to persuade readers to adopt those views as their own.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Table 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Below (Table 2) are some&nbsp;<em>sub<\/em>-categories of news and opinion:<span id=\"ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-176\" class=\"ezoic-adpicker-ad\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/1254144,22081415569\/writingcommons_org-box-4_0__container__\"><a href=\"https:\/\/7d529084b43a65d5dd1304383e1f9a0f.safeframe.googlesyndication.com\/safeframe\/1-0-38\/html\/container.html\">https:\/\/7d529084b43a65d5dd1304383e1f9a0f.safeframe.googlesyndication.com\/safeframe\/1-0-38\/html\/container.html<\/a><\/div>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h3><span class=\"blue-shade\"><strong>News<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"blue-shade\">News Article<\/span><\/td>\n<td>An article written to inform readers about recent events. The author reports essential information (who\/what\/where\/when\/why\/how).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"blue-shade\">News Analysis<\/span><\/td>\n<td>An article written to inform readers about recent events. The author reports<em>and<\/em>&nbsp;attempts to deepen understanding of recent events\u2014for example, by providing background information and other kinds of additional context.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"blue-shade\">Feature Article<\/span><\/td>\n<td>Compared with news articles, feature articles are often more creative or exploratory and less focused on efficient delivery of essential information.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For example, while a news article may detail the most recent revelations about a politician\u2019s extramarital affair, a feature article may offer in-depth reporting on a single aspect of the revelations, or the revelations may function as a \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dictionary.com\/browse\/news-peg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">news peg<\/a>\u201d for the feature article\u2019s more general exploration of infidelity.<\/p>\n<p>Other types of news content that are generally categorized as \u201cfeature\u201d writing include how-to-do-it articles (for example, how to shop for a new phone) and profiles (for example, an article about a movie actor starring in a recently-released film).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<h3><span class=\"orange-shade\"><strong>Opinion<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"orange-shade\">Editorial<\/span><\/td>\n<td>An unsigned opinion piece that represents the views of the news organization\u2019s editorial staff.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"orange-shade\">Opinion piece<\/span><\/td>\n<td>An opinion article by a staff columnist or guest columnist. (If a guest columnist, the writer\u2019s credentials will almost always be identified.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"orange-shade\">Review<\/span><\/td>\n<td>An evaluation of a book, movie, album, live performance, etc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Table 2<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"blue-shade\">Distinguishing between News and Opinion: An Example<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Compare the two texts that follow. In the first, \u201cGet Children Off Web and in Libraries,\u201d the reporter quotes the opinions of others but does not offer her own opinions. In the second, \u201cWhy Libraries are Key,\u201d the author explicitly takes a stand and seeks to persuade readers to adopt a particular position on an issue.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"blue-shade\">News<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em><strong>Get children off web and in libraries, says Laureate<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Children are failing to learn properly because they are churning out facts copied from the internet instead of going to the library, according&nbsp;to the new Children\u2019s Laureate<sub>1<\/sub>.<\/p>\n<p>Julia Donaldson, the best-selling author of The Gruffalo, set out her stall on the day of her appointment by speaking out against the Government\u2019s planned library closures, arguing that they&nbsp;are vital for children\u2019s education<sub>1<\/sub>.<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"blue-shade\">Opinions are attributed to another person (Donaldson). They are not presented as the reporter\u2019s own view.<sub>1<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"works-cited\">Source:<br \/>\nSingh, Anita. \u201cGet Children Off Web and in Libraries, says Laureate.\u201d&nbsp;<em>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>, 8 June 2011, 8.<span id=\"ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-115\" class=\"ezoic-adpicker-ad\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/1254144,22081415569\/writingcommons_org-banner-1_0__container__\"><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"orange-shade\">Opinion<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><em><strong>Why libraries are key to our kids\u2019 futures<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Children\u2019s use of libraries has increased every year for the past six years.<\/p>\n<p>As the Children\u2019s Laureate&nbsp;I want to make sure that<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;continues, and to do all I can to keep libraries open so that children can use them.<\/p>\n<p>Without this resource&nbsp;I\u2019m convinced that we will<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;have far fewer avid child readers and consequently lose a large percentage of our future adult readers.<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"orange-shade\">Notice that the author presents her own views, credentials, and objectives<sub>2<\/sub>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"works-cited\">Source:<br \/>\nDonaldson, Julia. \u201cWhy Libraries are Key to Our Kids Futures.\u201d&nbsp;<em>The Sun<\/em>, 14 October 2011, 40.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"blue-shade\">News or Opinion? Test your understanding.<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Identify each excerpt that follows as an example of&nbsp;<span class=\"blue-shade\"><em>news<\/em><\/span>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<span class=\"orange-shade\"><em>opinion<\/em><\/span>. (Discussion of each example appears at the end of this section.)<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Jeremy Hunt: No Public Interest in Nude Prince Harry Photographs<\/strong>Speaking to BBC News this morning, Mr. Hunt said: \u201cPersonally I cannot see what the public interest was in publishing those.\u201d\u201dBut we have a free press,\u201d he added, \u201cand I don\u2019t think it is right for politicians to tell newspaper editors what they can and cannot publish. That must be a matter for the newspaper editors.\u201dHe suggested that the public should give the Prince \u201ca break\u201d, days after the daily tabloid published photographs obtained by gossip website TMZ.\n<p class=\"works-cited\"><em>Source:<\/em><br \/>\n\u201cJeremy Hunt: No Public Interest in Nude Prince Harry Photographs.\u201d&nbsp;<em>The Telegraph<\/em>, 26 August 2012,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/uknews\/prince-harry\/9500433\/Jeremy-Hunt-No-public-interest-in-nude-Prince-Harry-photographs.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/uknews\/prince-harry\/9500433\/Jeremy-Hunt-No-public-interest-in-nude-Prince-Harry-photographs.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Social Media Content Could Make, Break Professional Life<\/strong>Do you remember your last tweet? What about last month\u2019s Facebook or Instagram posts? It is all out there somewhere, and employers very well may see something that could hurt their opinion of you.Tyler Willingham, a senior in marketing and a peer career adviser, was curious to know exactly what an employer\u2019s goal is when perusing a prospective employee\u2019s social media. After speaking with a mentor from a previous internship Willingham held, he found his answer.\u201cIt\u2019s not really an issue of what they look for,\u201d Willingham said \u201cbut what they try not to find.\u201d\n<p>Career Services interim director Stephanie Kit said some of the things employers hope not to find are pictures and posts involving alcohol or drug usage, negative comments about a current or previous employer and any discriminatory content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"works-cited\"><em>Source:<\/em><br \/>\nLipps, Michael. \u201cSocial Media Content Could Make, Break Professional Life.\u201d&nbsp;<em>University of Tennessee Daily Beacon<\/em>, 15 April 2015, www.utdailybeacon.com\/news\/2015\/apr\/15\/social-media\u2013content-could-make-break-professional\/.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u2018Kid Nation\u2019 Lesson: Be Careful What You Pitch<\/strong>On Friday, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the union that represents performers but not contestants on reality shows, said it was investigating whether the children on \u201cKid Nation\u201d should have been covered by the union\u2019s work rules.With \u201cKid Nation,\u201d CBS confronted several new situations created by the fact that it was working with children rather than adults.If \u201cKid Nation\u201d had been set in California, New York or several other states, it would have been subject to laws that limit the amount of time a child could spend on the set of the program each day. It chose instead to shoot the program in New Mexico, where until this summer there was no law addressing children\u2019s work on television or film productions.\n<p>That is not to say that New Mexico had not contemplated such limits. Before CBS took the 40 children to the state, its Legislature had already passed a bill that would have outlawed much of what CBS had planned.<\/p>\n<p>On April 3, two days after CBS started shooting the 13-episode reality series, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico signed the bill into law. It limits children ages 8 to 15 to eight to nine hours\u2019 work a day on television and film productions.<\/p>\n<p>On the set of \u201cKid Nation,\u201d the children regularly worked more than 12 hours a day, and their contract required that they be available to the show\u2019s producers to be videotaped 24 hours a day, seven days a week.<\/p>\n<p>But because the new law was not scheduled to go into effect until June 15, roughly one month after \u201cKid Nation\u201d finished production, lawyers for CBS have contended that everything they did was in compliance with the law \u201cin effect at the time of production.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But it is not clear whether CBS was in compliance. New Mexico child-labor statutes limit children under the age of 14 to 44 hours of work in one week and eight hours in any day, unless a special permit has been granted. [\u2026]<\/p>\n<p class=\"works-cited\"><em>Source:<\/em><br \/>\nWyatt, Edward. \u201c\u2018Kid Nation\u2019 Lesson: Be Careful What You Pitch.\u201d&nbsp;<em>New York Times<\/em>, 25 August 2007, B7.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sometimes, the Teachers Bully the Students<\/strong>The government of Alberta has re-introduced its Education Act, which addresses the issue of student bullying in schools. The bill affirms that students are entitled to learning environments that are welcoming, caring, respectful and safe.The government is to be commended both for its process in engaging the community, and for the resulting new provisions.For example, the bill\u2019s definition of bullying acknowledges that bullying is intentional and repetitive, and that it can cause harm, fear and distress to victims in the school community. Moreover, the bill wisely addresses not just the situation where a student bullies fellow students, but where a student bullies other individuals in the school community. Such recognition that students can bully adults is important because research suggests that students often bully their teachers.\n<p>Yet, the bill fails to acknowledge that the imbalance of power between teachers and students creates an opportunity for bullying of students by adults. [\u2026] The bill ought to recognize and address the possibility of bullying behavior by adults who work in schools.<\/p>\n<p class=\"works-cited\"><em>Source:<\/em><br \/>\nBuchfink, Jaclyn, and Juliet Guichon. \u201cSometimes, the Teachers Bully the Students.\u201d&nbsp;<em>Calgary Herald<\/em>, 21 February 2012, A13.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span class=\"blue-shade\">Discussion<\/span><\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Jeremy Hunt: No Public Interest in Nude Prince Harry Photographs<\/strong>Speaking to BBC News this morning, Mr. Hunt said: \u201cPersonally I cannot see what the public interest was in publishing those.\u201d\u201dBut we have a free press,\u201d he added, \u201cand I don\u2019t think it is right for politicians to tell newspaper editors what they can and cannot publish. That must be a matter for the newspaper editors.\u201dHe suggested that the public should give the Prince \u201ca break\u201d, days after the daily tabloid published photographs obtained by gossip website TMZ.\n<p class=\"blue-shade\">1. News<br \/>\n-This piece deals almost exclusively with an opinion, but the opinion is&nbsp;<em>not<\/em>&nbsp;that of the author.<br \/>\n-Rather, the author is&nbsp;<em>reporting on<\/em>&nbsp;the opinion of a public figure (British Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Social Media Content Could Make, Break Professional Life<\/strong>Do you remember your last tweet? What about last month\u2019s Facebook or Instagram posts? It is all out there somewhere, and employers very well may see something that could hurt their opinion of you.Tyler Willingham, a senior in marketing and a peer career adviser, was curious to know exactly what an employer\u2019s goal is when perusing a prospective employee\u2019s social media. After speaking with a mentor from a previous internship Willingham held, he found his answer.\u201cIt\u2019s not really an issue of what they look for,\u201d Willingham said \u201cbut what they try not to find.\u201d\n<p>Career Services interim director Stephanie Kit said some of the things employers hope not to find are pictures and posts involving alcohol or drug usage, negative comments about a current or previous employer and any discriminatory content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"blue-shade\">2. News<br \/>\n-This is an example of a \u201cfeature\u201d-style news piece. The presentation is more creative than that of a news article, and the headline expresses a claim. But the author is still primarily&nbsp;<em>reporting on the views of others<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u2018Kid Nation\u2019 Lesson: Be Careful What You Pitch<\/strong>On Friday, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the union that represents performers but not contestants on reality shows, said it was investigating whether the children on \u201cKid Nation\u201d should have been covered by the union\u2019s work rules.With \u201cKid Nation,\u201d CBS confronted several new situations created by the fact that it was working with children rather than adults.If \u201cKid Nation\u201d had been set in California, New York or several other states, it would have been subject to laws that limit the amount of time a child could spend on the set of the program each day. It chose instead to shoot the program in New Mexico, where until this summer there was no law addressing children\u2019s work on television or film productions.\n<p>That is not to say that New Mexico had not contemplated such limits. Before CBS took the 40 children to the state, its Legislature had already passed a bill that would have outlawed much of what CBS had planned.<\/p>\n<p>On April 3, two days after CBS started shooting the 13-episode reality series, Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico signed the bill into law. It limits children ages 8 to 15 to eight to nine hours\u2019 work a day on television and film productions.<\/p>\n<p>On the set of \u201cKid Nation,\u201d the children regularly worked more than 12 hours a day, and their contract required that they be available to the show\u2019s producers to be videotaped 24 hours a day, seven days a week.<\/p>\n<p>But because the new law was not scheduled to go into effect until June 15, roughly one month after \u201cKid Nation\u201d finished production, lawyers for CBS have contended that everything they did was in compliance with the law \u201cin effect at the time of production.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But it is not clear whether CBS was in compliance. New Mexico child-labor statutes limit children under the age of 14 to 44 hours of work in one week and eight hours in any day, unless a special permit has been granted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"blue-shade\">3. News<br \/>\n-This is an example of a \u201cNews Analysis\u201d article. It does not merely report Who, What, Where, When, Why and How (though we do see these elements in the top paragraph) but rather attempts to provide readers with a better understanding of the broader context and complexities of the news event.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sometimes, the Teachers Bully the Students<\/strong>The government of Alberta has re-introduced its Education Act, which addresses the issue of student bullying in schools. The bill affirms that students are entitled to learning environments that are welcoming, caring, respectful and safe.The government is to be commended both for its process in engaging the community, and for the resulting new provisions.For example, the bill\u2019s definition of bullying acknowledges that bullying is intentional and repetitive, and that it can cause harm, fear and distress to victims in the school community. Moreover, the bill wisely addresses not just the situation where a student bullies fellow students, but where a student bullies other individuals in the school community. Such recognition that students can bully adults is important because research suggests that students often bully their teachers.\n<p>Yet, the bill fails to acknowledge that the imbalance of power between teachers and students creates an opportunity for bullying of students by adults [\u2026] The bill ought to recognize and address the possibility of bullying behavior by adults who work in schools.<\/p>\n<p class=\"orange-shade\">4. Opinion<br \/>\n-While the authors do report on the positions and research findings of others, they are essentially putting forward their own position.<br \/>\n-Notice that the opinions expressed in this piece are not attributed to others, as in the previous examples. The opinions belong to the authors.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Further Study<\/h3>\n<p>Journalistic norms and practices are always evolving. The rise of 24-hour cable news networks and the internet has led many traditional news outlets to differentiate themselves by offering more analysis, contextualization, and interpretation in their reporting. Another factor in this evolution has been a growing disenchantment with older ideals of detached reporting\u2014especially the most rigid interpretation of these ideals, in which objectivity is understood to dictate a narrow focus on the surface details of news phenomena, and in which even identification of verifiable falsehoods in the statements of public officials might be considered a breach of journalistic objectivity.<\/p>\n<p>For further study, see:<\/p>\n<p class=\"works-cited\">Esser, Frank, and Andrea Umbricht. \u201cThe Evolution of Objective and Interpretative Journalism in the Western Press.\u201d&nbsp;<em>Journalism &amp; Mass Communication Quarterly<\/em>, vol. 91, no. 2, 2014, pp. 229-249.<\/p>\n<p class=\"works-cited\">Maras, Steven.&nbsp;<em>Objectivity in Journalism<\/em>. Polity Press, 2013.<\/p>\n<p class=\"works-cited\">Seyb, Ronald P. \u201cWhat Walter Saw: Walter Lippmann, the New York World, and Scientific Advocacy as an Alternative to the News-Opinion Dichotomy.\u201d&nbsp;<em>Journalism History<\/em>, vol. 41, no. 2, 2015, pp. 58-72.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"menu_order":12,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-77","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/77","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/77\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/77\/revisions\/172"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/77\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=77"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=77"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/medianewsandreporting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=77"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}